Machimoodus State Park

Equipment shed at Machimoodus State Park

Unique construction using whole trees and metal panels

Love the light coming through -- needs repairs

Vines, poison ivy and Asiatic bittersweet

Invasive Japanese honeysuckle Lonicera japonica Thunb.

Red-stemmed milkweed pod

Common mullein first year's growth

Due to two days of fairly heavy rains today was the first time I was able to revisit Machimoodus State Park.  The sky was brooding when I arrived and stayed that way until I had packed up and was driving out of the park.  That is when the sun peaked out for a quick look.

 This time I had my tripod and a clean lens.  Since it was sprinkling on and off I also carried my huge Ikea umbrella which came in handy to keep moisture off of my camera and as a wind block.  The wind always seemed to kick up any time I tried to take a closeup of a flower on a long stem.  

Mushroom dinner for slugs

unknown mushroom whose stem was below the soil line

Wild carrot flowers are spectacular

Connecticut Native and Not-So-Native Plants

First a little background before I share a little bit about my morning explore. Connecticut, as are all other states in the contiguous 48 states, is struggling with invasive plants.  Last spring I attended a workshop in my town sponsored by UConn.  This was my first exposure to invasive plants other than hearing about the spread of  Lythrum salicaria or Purple Loosestrife a few years ago.

Because I think of him as Nature Boy, I brought my 12-year-old son.  As I figured, he was fascinated and drank up everything he could.  He loves to explore, often can be seen with a pair of binoculars stuck to his face, and could grow up to be a biologist or environmental engineer.

After a little talk about what invasive species were, we were led on a tour of the senior center's property where invasive species were identified and explained.  Because it was still very early in the spring many of the invasives that Connecticut struggles with had not yet appeared.  Regardless, it was an introduction and a starting place.

Over the next few weeks I began walking my property.  I mostly found Celastruc orbiculatus or Oriental Bittersweet and, of course, my 50 Winged Euonymus Euonymus alatus shrubs which provided a privacy screen along my very long driveway.

Although it was an excruciating decision, I chose to cut down all of the Winged Euonymus shrubs.  I will miss the fall color with which they greeted me each time I came home from running errands, but my conscience is clear -- no new plants would grow because of my shrubs.  I am hoping to replace them with Redtwig Dogwoods.

If anyone is interested in learning to identify and manage invasive species here are some links:

Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group
National Invasive Species Information Center
Invasive Species State Resources
USGS Invasive Species Program

Now for my morning.  Before jumping in the car to take my son to work I grabbed my camera and tripod.  Driving back I decided to stop off at a fairly new state park area in a nearby town.  The state purchased part of a much larger family farm a few years ago so it made a perfect park.  A lot of the land was already cleared for raising beef cattle, there were a couple of nice ponds and old dirt roads became walking trails.

Arriving at the park I am the only visitor.  This is quite common for weekday mornings.  Grabbing my Kimber PepperBlaster II I began putting my camera gear together.  I remove my tripod and then my camera, go to attach my camera to the tripod and find the tripod mount is not on my camera.  Okay, now I am not happy.  One of my sons used my camera but did not put the tripod mount back on when they were finished.  I almost just pack back up and head home.  Nope.  I am already here.  I'll just walk around a bit and see what I can capture.  I need the tripod because I am very shaky.  I can't even stand straight without weaving a bit.  Forget about steady hands.  Typically, my handheld shots are at best just not sharp.  Most are downright blurry.

Just a few feet from my car I was thrilled to see an area that was allowed to grow wild with native flowers and herbs.

I know this doesn't look like much but there are some real treasures in there.  Most exciting was the mullein, center, tall spiky flower stalks. 

Then pan left and there was this beautiful patch of what I thought were white flowers but during post-processing discovered they are a very light purple. Sorry, but I do not know what they are yet.

Moving down the trail a bit I attempted to capture closeups of some flowers and grasses but they just did not turn out well.

Then I reached a huge field and pond as I moved towards the river.  More mullein, grasses that had fallen over to create a soft carpet, and many more wild carrots and some plants that I could not identify.

Common mullein

One of my favorite herbs is mullein.  It has anti-inflammatory and expectorant properties.  Let me put it this way: if you have a stuffy head, hold a cup of mullein tea, inhale deeply and your nasal passages will miraculously clear enough so you can breathe again.  Additionally, it will loosen and help you clear out mucous (you need to drink it for this to happen -- it tastes like mint).  This herb tea is especially amazing at dealing with sinus infections.  A Neti pot and a few cups of mullein tea is all you need to cure that infection.

Milkweed

At first glance, this would look like a huge patch of Dogbane.  Red stems usually means Dogbane.  And that is what I thought. Although Dogbane usually has a few smaller branches reaching out from the main stem.  What convinced me were the pods (see below).

Milkweed -- but what variety?

Unlike Common Milkweed, the pods above are not dangling from a curved stem but closely attached to the main stem. 

Milkweed

In the same field I found a few of these plants (below) that I thought at the time might be in the nightshade family.  Once I got home I discovered that they were not any nightshades that came up when I searched and included Connecticut in the field.

The leaves are not in great shape and I didn't get enough photos of the leaves themselves so I will go back this afternoon or tomorrow with my tripod (and mount) and take more photos to aid in identification.

The plant to the right is definitely in the nightshade family.  Classic flower style but not the invasive Bittersweet nightshade Solanum dulcamara.

The flower looks very similar to Mullein nightshade Solanum donianum but the leaves are completely different.

I believe this might be a White Nightshade Solanum douglasii.  Again, the leaves are not quite right.

More photos especially with closeups of the leaves are required.

Black locust - Robinia pseudoacacia L. Invasive tree

To the left is a Black locust tree which is on the invasive species list here in Connecticut.

This tree was in a line of obviously planted trees along with some saplings in the field nearby. 

When I find an invasive species like this I record the location, try to take a few photos and then will report it to the State of Connecticut.  This tree needs to be removed as do the saplings nearby. 

And finally, I will leave you with this picture from my morning explore.  I will take more pictures of this structure, also.  The construction is quite unique.  Huge dirty spot on my lens and no lens cloth ended my photo explore. 

Equipment shed

Turned cool, thankfully . . . or not

It has been very, very warm for New England.  Hot and humid.  Thank God for those window units that still work.  And lots of fans.  We have survived.

Last night I went out on the deck to try to find one of my cats (they must come in at night or they could become a meal for coyotes) and was shocked to find it in the 60's.  Oh, it was so refreshing.  Yes, to a person it feels wonderful.  To a squash or cucumber plant it means almost coming to a standstill in growth.

This morning is it 58.4 degrees Farenheit at 6:15 a.m.  Brrrr.  I am not complaining for me.  It is delightful.  But I want more squash, cucumbers and tomatoes.  Strangely enough, August in Connecticut tends to be cooler than July, the opposite of the southern states.  In Texas or Florida, August is usually the hottest, and I mean scorching hot, month.

Sugar pumpkin turning beautiful orange.  Look closely at the bottom of the picture.

With those cooler, fallish temperatures it makes more sense to have my first Sugar Pumpkin begin to turn orange.  What a gorgeous contrast between the green and orange.  And if you look closely at the picture, what do you see beneath that pumpkin?

Joey's pumpkin

See Joey's pumpkin? This is pumpkin number two what is growing on the fencing.  And boy how it has grown.

Joey's pumpkin

Did you know that if you scratch a child's name on a growing pumpkin it scabs over?  When the pumpkin is ready it has the child's name in light brown against the orange outer skin?  I took a nail to Joey's pumpkin on Saturday.  I took this picture yesterday (Monday) and it was already scabbing over.  This morning it is much more pronounced.

Pumpkin blossom

I have taken at least 50 shots of pumpkin flowers but this is my favorite.  The color is so intense as though the vine sends up a big party platform declaring, "sweet nectar for all!!!"  The stamen is huge (though not captured in this shot) as though it was designed for blind bees, or those who accidentally stumble upon this giant flower.

Moskovich tomato plant

The tip of my Moskovich tomato (driveway container garden) reaching for the heavens, soaking in a shower of rays from the hot sun.  

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

August garden

    My deck garden gives me so much hope.  I still forget to check it some days but so far it is thriving.  The two free tomato plants that I got from a feed store in a nearby town are gone.  I pulled them up and tossed them as they were showing signs of Late Blight.  Next year I will not bring any tomato plants home from anywhere.  I just won't take that chance.

    These little tomatoes (left) are from one of my homegrown plants started in February and planted in tomato cans.  They are tall, not terribly full plants but it looks like they will be producing tomatoes and that is all that counts.

Yellow squash

    I absolutely love, love, love summer squash: yellow, zucchini, any and all of them.  I have been frustrated because my front garden just doesn't get enough sun except for the pumpkin area.  My squash plants have been slow to grow.  Finally, last week, I saw hope of some squash.

Zucchini squash

    I did buy some yellow squash at the farmer's market yesterday and am so glad that I did.  It was simply amazing.  I sauteed green bell peppers and summer squash and served it over short grain organic brown rice for dinner last night along with fresh ears of corn (for the boys -- I don't like corn).
    I have four zucchini plants.  This is the first fruit I have seen since I planted these 8 weeks ago.  I have a neighbor who makes the most amazing zucchini relish, and to be honest, I look forward to making some of this myself this year.  I will wait until the end of the zucchini harvest when we are all sick of zucchini and they are getting bigger and bigger because we don't want to eat anymore and just leave them in the garden.  And stuffed squash -- oh the possibilities.

Do watched pumpkins ever grow?

Just a little excited to see my first pumpkin starting to show just a little orange coloring.  I couldn't remember how long this guy has been growing so I checked and apparently this pumpkin was pollinated July 14th.  I cannot believe how quickly these pumpkins grow.  My boys wanted to set up my camera on the tripod and take time-lapsed shots to see if we could "see" it grow overnight.

My first and largest pumpkin

Joey's pumpkin -- growing so quickly

Oregano

Dragonfly sunning

Bartlett Pears

Hibiscus

My little bit of the sub-tropics here in Connecticut.  My hibiscus bush is about 8 feet tall now.

Requires no maintenance, pruning, nothing, it just blooms year after year.

Just perfect!

Good bacteria, healthy gut

How could you NOT read this blog post with a catchy title like that? Yesterday I bought an extra half gallon of milk with the intention of making yogurt. I have been paying almost $5 for a quart of organic yogurt. I could make my own for half that price. 

When I had organic dairy goats I made yogurt at least once or twice a week. My kids love smoothies so this was one of the best ways to use the abundance of raw milk that we got. Because it was raw milk I did a quick pasteurization, allowed it to cool to 85-100 degrees and then stirred in yogurt from my last batch. 

But today I am starting with milk that had already been pasteurized so I just put it in my favorite, thick ceramic bowl, whisked in some of the Seven Stars Farm organic yogurt I had (1-2 tablespoons) and put it on my 1970's slow cooker base. I discovered that the low setting on this old base keeps the culture mixture at about 110 degrees. Perfect!

If I am making coffee or cooking I sometimes must make adjustments to this setup so it doesn't get too warm. I set the slow cooker base on low, inserted my candy thermometer, covered with waxed paper and a kitchen towel. A couple of hours later I checked the temp. All good. 

Later in the day I had started my food dehydrator which definitely warmed up the kitchen quite a bit. When I checked my yogurt the temperature was a little too high so I just pulled the towel back to the side and let the yogurt continue to culture. 

I like my yogurt with more flavor so I allowed it to culture overnight. If you don't really like a strong yogurt flavor, just culture it until it sets then jar up and refrigerate. 

 Using my canning funnel I filled two quart-sized glass canning jars and had 2 very full quarts of organic yogurt that was mild, so smooth, and very healthy. 

My favorite way to eat yogurt is with either raw honey or raw agave, a little bit of my homemade vanilla extract and some organic blueberries from my freezer. Just a little bit of heaven. 

Now I can make some frozen yogurt, too, with yummy berries, a little organic sugar or honey, and vanilla.

Oh, and what is this about a healthy gut? Scientists are beginning to think that the bacteria in the gut are very much tied to the immune system in a person's body. Since I struggle with chronic Lyme disease I want to make sure I get some good bacteria each day. I am hoping I can heal my body with this food and others.

Give it a try! You won't believe how easy it is to make your own yogurt.

Paper Towel Alternatives

I reached a point recently where I had to choose between buying food or buying paper towels.  Of course, it was a no-brainer.  We went without paper towels.  And then we went without a little longer.  But I hadn't really provided anything in the kitchen to substitute for those oh-so-handy paper towels. 

I began to bring the subject up at the grocery store checkout line when I guiltily bought one single roll of a really cheap brand (which are awful, btw).  It was interesting hearing some responses.  The male cashiers all completely understood what I was talking about.  The female cashiers looked at me like I was on crack.

One male cashier told me that he cuts up his old t-shirts and uses those, washes and reuses them.  What a great idea.  By the time I got home I completely forgot about trying to find something to substitute for those oh-so-handy paper towels.

One day I had to laugh at myself.  They are called paper "towels".  Duh.  That means that at one point in history people used actual cloth towels for the jobs that we typically pull a few off the roll for (sorry, ended in a preposition).

I would think about it a bit, envision that flannel would be an awesome paper towel substitute.  I still haven't done anything about making me some towels to use in the kitchen.  But here are some creative alternatives I have found.

• Paper grocery bags -- did you know that is what your mothers and grandmothers used to drain fried food before the advent of paper towels?  So now I often ask for paper instead of plastic so I have a supply for fried chicken. [Yes, I tried those reusable bags and they got nasty really fast -- did not think a cashier would want to touch them after a few months. Working on sewing some new ones.  Okay, thinking about working on sewing some new ones.]
• Junk mail -- I know.  Strange item to use but if you drop an egg on the floor you do NOT want to use your sponge or a cloth towel.  We all have some junk mail laying around.  Just open a letter-sized item and use the envelope to scrape the egg (or any other fairly solid mess) onto the paper, and toss.
• Newspaper -- these are especially good for cleaning windows.  I don't subscribe but we do get junk mail printed on newspaper such as grocery store ads.  
• Waxed paper or parchment -- waxed paper is quite handy (and I use it when I run out of plastic wrap as well with a rubber band).  Parchment paper is expensive so you are not going to clean up the counters with it but in a pinch it can be useful.
• Old clothes -- this goes along with cutting up old t-shirts to create reusable kitchen towels.  I have been known to grab a t-shirt that has a hole in it, clean up a nasty mess or clean the bathroom and then toss it out.  If you clean up a grease spill you do not want to put a grease-soaked cloth in your washer and dryer.  Hand soak, wash, rinse and hang on the line.

I would still like to have a supply of clean, folded kitchen towels on hand but learning to make do really is rewarding.  When I get around to making my towels I will take some pictures.  I do have some ideas that might be interesting.  And old t-shirts go straight to the garage for my mechanic son to use.

I would love to hear what creative alternatives to paper towels you have all come up with (what is with the prepositions today???).

Garden Beauty

Sugar pumpkin vines are growing all over the cattle panel fencing.  Still getting very few pumpkins take but happy to have three so far.  That is three that I don't need to buy, and with canned pumpkin containing PBAs now fresh is best.

And I want those pepitas!

Did find a section of powdery mildew on my vines, though.  I just took a mixture of baking soda in water and wiped the affected leaves.  I have used baking soda on old furniture that had white mildew on it with great results.  Fingers crossed.

The light was just perfect for some beautiful shots of my front garden.  When I need to do little post processing I know the light is just right.

Closer shot of one of the pumpkin vines reaching for the sun, tendrils seeking the next handhold.  I am in love with my pumpkin vines.  I think growing plants that give me and my family food is such a beautiful thing.  Spiritual, really.

First San Marzano tomatoes ripening.  I had more than one with the bulbous part.  Not sure what causes that or if it will affect the tomato flavor or texture.  I shall let you know.

All I know is that I want to grow a lot of plum tomatoes next time.  I need more garden space.  I need more sun in my yard!

Sadly, I had to pull up and throw away the two freebie tomato plants I got from the nursery.  They both showed signs of what I think might be Late Blight.  So out they went.  I am not terribly sad.  I just made room to plant some of my fall planting seeds I received from Annie's Heirloom Seeds.

Tiny tomatoes on one of my deck canned tomato plants.  Lots more flowers and potential tomatoes.  I want to be harvesting tomatoes in October! I can dream, can't I?

Bell pepper plant with four sets of flowers getting ready to open and give me lots and lots of bell peppers.  I love peppers, and I love bell peppers.  I like slices of fresh bell pepper on my hamburgers with onions, tomatoes, lettuce, mayo and ketchup.

I pinched the central stalk when I planted it.  So happy to get four producing stalks.  Did I mention that I can't wait to eat one of these?

This Suyo Long cucumber has been hanging down from the beginning promoting a straight fruit.  And it is ready to harvest.  These cucumbers are not growing fast enough for my family.  My boys saw me eating cucumber slices from a bag yesterday and descended like piranha.  I guess I will need to eat my cucumbers in secret if I want more.

I can't quite describe the flavor.  They do not taste like typical grocery store cucumbers, as would be expected.  They don't taste like hothouse cucumbers (which I love).  They have slightly different flavor but the boys all agree that it is pleasant and delicious.

Here is a shot of my tomato bed mess.  Yes, I should have staked them.  The varieties I planted are still going strong out in the yard.  They have left the bed and are growing about 5-6 feet on either side.

Now that I know I can get 6 ft wooden stakes for $1.29 each I will be staking and trellising these guys in the future.

I think I shall dub myself the accidental gardener!